Boy, Was I Right
by Two-Bits
Summary: SLASH I suffer from acute paranoia.
1. Paranoia

I suffer from acute paranoia.

Well, not _technically_, but I'm paranoid all the same. I bless the large mirror hanging on the wall in my basement, because it is so big that it gives me a full view of the room as I'm coming down the stairs. My house is old, so it creaks during the night, and trees cast shadows across my windows. There's one bathroom that, every time I go in there, I check behind the shower curtain, because I'm always nervous I'll find something there. I live kind of in the middle of nowhere, in my grandparents' house. I have neighbors, of course, but there's a stretch of trees blocking them from making contact, and they don't bother to.

Of course, the fact that I live practically alone, with no neighbors, and no contact except from my Golden Retriever, James, and my Border Collie, Hugo, topped by the fact that I live in a huge house, does not really help my cause.

But I'm happy, despite my paranoia. Mostly, I spend my time playing my guitar, painting, and writing. Occasionally, I'll go horse-back riding. I deer-hunt in the woods behind my house, too, with James and Hugo.

But I am only eighteen. I can't be expected to give up my teenage obsessions just yet, namely the Harry Potter books, and _Newsies_, a musical about the newsboys' strike against _The World_ in 1899.

This is where my story starts: a chilly Tuesday evening in November, watching _Newsies_ with my dogs. I expect they get sick of watching _Newsies_ over and over again, but neither of them seemed to care. We sat as we always did, kind of a tradition. I was sitting cross-legged on the couch. Hugo was in my lap, and James was curled up in my side, his head resting on Hugo's back.

We hadn't been watching it for very long. Kid Blink was complaining about the price increase, one of my favorite Kid Blink lines. "They jacked up the price! Can you believe that? Ten cents a hundred!" I exclaimed to James, who just looked at me like I was an idiot. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up."

I paused the movie and pushed the two dogs off of me, ignoring their whines in protest, and headed for the bathroom. It was the one that I always checked behind the shower curtain in, and this time was no different. But I suddenly felt like this time _was_ different, and boy, was I right!

Hesitantly, I drew back the curtain, and gave a yelp of surprise when I saw a pair of brown eyes staring back at me. I jumped back, slamming into the door, and began fumbling with the doorknob, but it was locked. I could hear Hugo and James barking, and I could tell they were right by the door.

"Hey! HEY! Calm down!"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" I shrieked, as he stepped out of the shower (fully clothed, thankfully).

"I'm Racetrack."


	2. Racetrack?

I stood stock still, staring at him. "_Racetrack?_" He nodded. I sagged against the door. "Why are you in my shower?" I would have grinned at that oh-so-lovely mental image, but I was too busy freaking out.

"Um…I don't know. I was in Brooklyn, actually…" I opened the door, remembering that I was in a rather small bathroom, and was nearly mauled by my dogs, who were freaking out about _me._

"Is anyone else here?" I asked, looking around, as if I expected Jack Kelly to pop out of the sink. Racetrack shrugged.

"I have no idea. I just woke up in your shower." He looked around. "Nice place." I smiled.

"Thanks. It's my grandparents'. I'm taking care of it while they're in Texas." He bent down to pet Hugo and James. "This is Hugo, and that's James. Oh, and I'm Tory," I added, holding out my hand. He shook it.

"Where the hell am I!" cried a new voice. I spun around, then hurried into the kitchen. "Race! Where are we!" Spot cried, near hysterics. I couldn't help snickering at the sight of Spot in hysterics.

"We're in Tory's house," Race replied, in a low, calming voice, motioning to me. He looked at me, as if noticing me for the first time, which he was. He stared at me, taking in my plaid pajama pants, and my spaghetti-strapped tank top. (Hey, I said it was a chilly Tuesday. I didn't say it was cold _inside!_) I suddenly realized that these boys were from 1899, a time where teenage boys went "ankle-watching" on windy days.

"You some kinda' whore?" Spot asked, his lips curling in (thankfully) disgrace. I shook my head, cheeks burning red. (Hey, that rhymed!)

"Nah. Around here, everyone dresses like this. Girls don't have to wear long skirts."

"You mean there are girls walking around in _short_ skirts?" Racetrack exclaimed, looking disgusted at the thought. I frowned. Why were two perfectly hormonal teenage boys be disgusted at the thought of short skirts? Unless…

"Why were you in Brooklyn, Race?" I asked. I noted that he blushed quite noticeably.

"Um…We were actually about to play poker, Spot and I," he muttered. I grinned.

"Strip poker?" I prodded. A deeper blush. I looked over at Spot, and he, too, looked embarrassed. "Boy-os, are you two gay?"


	3. Good Show!

Special thanks to Jacky Higgins for BETA-ing.

* * *

"Gay?" Race repeated, blankly. I nodded, jumping up onto the counter.

"Si. Gay...Homosexual...Rainbow...I could think of a few crueler things, but you're not going to hear them from me," I said, easily. Spot and Race glanced at each other, and I fought back the urge to squeal.

"Yeah, we're gay. Just don't tell my boys, all right? They'll hound me out of Brooklyn!" Spot said, warningly.  
"...for such corruption in my house!" I muttered, quoting The Crucible, a rather depressing play. "Sorry. I just had to say it. Anyway, I'm going to go put on some sleeves. Make yourselves  
comfortable." I stopped walking and pulled an about-face. "But no sex," I warned, teasingly. They  
both blushed. "Wankers..." I muttered, jokingly. I stepped into my room, grabbed a long-sleeved shirt, and pulled it over my head. When I returned to the living room, I had to walk back out again.

Race was pressed up against the counter as he and Spot macked in my kitchen. It was too hot to handle. I was gonna start squirming any minute now. Clamping a hand over my eyes-Okay, I lie, I didn't clamp a hand over my eyes-I walked back into the kitchen.

"All right, break it up! I'd have to go write forty-seven pages of slash if you two kept that up," I said, grabbing a cup out of the cabinet and pouring myself a glass of water.

"You never said 'No making out,'" Race muttered. Eh, the boy had a point.

"Yeah, well, I figured you two would be too flipped out, but I guess I was wrong," I replied, following my words with a gulp of water. The phone rang, and both jumped a foot in the air. The image was complete as Spot let our an oh-so-girly yelp. Grinning at the sudden prospect of blackmail, I snatched the phone off its hook and said, "Hello?"

"Hi, sweetheart," came my grandmother's cheery reply. I grinned.

"Hi grandma. What's up?" I said, watching in amusement as Spot and Race peered at the phone.

"Well, our flight got moved up, so we're leaving tomorrow morning. We should get there around noon." I nearly had a heart attack. I'd forgotten that my grandparents were coming home tomorrow.

"Um, you're coming into Dullas, right?" I stammered.

"Yes. We'll meet you in the baggage claim."

"All right. I'll be there," I said, massaging my temples with one hand.

"Well, I've got to go. See you tomorrow."

"Love you, bye." I hurriedly hung up, and raked my fingers through my hair. What to do...What to do...

"Are you okay?" Race asked, watching me pace. I shook my head.

"My grandparents are coming home tomorrow..." I muttered. I glanced up and thanked God. Through the window, I could see the barn, which has an apartment. "All right, problem solved," I said, brightly. "Bed time."

I led the boys to the twin room, a large room which had twin beds (go figure), and set them up in there with a strict warning against any...erm...activities. "I don't want to have to do laundry tomorrow!" I said, before retiring to my own room.

Morning came, and I was thrilled to find the boys in their own dry beds. "Wake up, boys! You can go sleep in the barn!" Groaning and cursing in my general direction, Spot and Race crawled out of bed.

I scrounged up some spare toothbrushes, stuck the boys in the shower (seperately), and then fed them an oh-so-healthy breakfast of chocolate muffins. "We're off to see the Wizard!" I said, cheerfully, ushering them toward the barn. It's not so bad. Mostly it's used for storage, but the apartment is all-in-all pretty nice. My grandparents lived there while their house was being built.

"I'll be back in about an hour. Just stay here until I get you, all right?" I instructed. The boys nodded obediently, and I left, not wanting to even think about what they planned to do to amuse themselves.

I picked up my grandparents from the airport and drove them home, smiling and nodding as they caught me up on my relatives, whom I hadn't seen in a year. I dropped them off in front of their house with a vague, "I've got to get a box from the apartment," and then continued driving to the barn.

Leaping out, I hurried upstairs, shouting on the way, "I'm coming up, so please dress quickly!" I reached the top and was relieved to find fully-dressed newsboys watching TV. "All right, you two have to get in the car and keep your heads down until we're out of sight." I felt like I was pulling some job, or something.

Grabbing a box, I emptied it of its contents and carried it out to the car, in case my grandparents were watching The boys slunk to the car, practically crawling, until they were safely in the backseat.

"Keep low..." I murmured. I waved through the window shield to my grandmother, then shot down the driveway. When we were out of sight, I said, "All right. Good show, boys!"

* * *

Shoutouts!

XBeLLaViTaX: Sorry, but I'm a slash addict. And, sorry babe, but you cna't have Skittery.

ducks-go-quack-00: I know, I think it's hilarious!

Chaos89: ((manic grin)) I know. Sprace is fabulous!

Charlie Bird: Haha! No offense taken. I personally hate skirts with a fiery passion! Man, don't we _all_ wish Race was in our shower...

Unknown-Dreams: YAY! Cookies! ((munches cookie)) Mmm...

twilight-maiden: Yay! A new reviewer! Haha, glad you liked it.

Nosilla: It's what I think every day when I go to the mall!

time is a waste of life: WOW! That makes me so happy!


	4. Calm Down!

Thanks to Jacky Higgins for BETA-ing!

Shoutouts!

Kid Blink's Dreamer: Oooh...You're a sharp one, aren't you? I'm going to have to block you, or else you'll spoil all my plots! -grin-  
Slightly: _What_ plots?  
...Shut UP.

Unknown-Dreams: I know, I have them every morning when I'm at my grandparents' house! And of _course_ Sprace rocks!

ducks-go-quack: Brilliant, brililant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say!  
Slightly: Not to brag or anything...  
I wasn't _bragging_, I was _quoting!  
_Slightly: You don't even know where that's from!  
And _you_ do?  
Slightly: ...  
Thought not.

Erin Go Bragh: I haven't read a bunch either, because like you said, they don't react to anything! It's like, we've got girls walking around in things they call skirts, but they don't say anything! And slash is brilliant. I'm going to be the one who in thirty years is slashing, and can't get married, because she always falls for the gay guys, and thinks straight guys are over-rated.

XBeLLaViTaX: Yeah, our play sucked though. People _laughed_. It's a tragedy, and people _laughed._ That's just sad. And, sorry, but you can't own Skitts. Watch and learn.

* * *

"By the way, keep quiet, because who knows who's crashing at my place. Sometimes my best friends sleep here when they've had problems at home," I whispered, unlocking my door. My cat dashed out between my legs the instant I opened the door. Spot promptly sneezed. "Shh!"

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his nose. I scrutinized him for a moment.

"Spotty…Are you allergic to cats?" He grimaced.

"Why do you think they call me Spot? I'm a dog person." I laughed.

"Well, Hugo and James like you. But I can't do anything about Skitty." I dropped my backpack on the floor and glanced at the couch.

My heart stopped.

Curled up on the couch, looking positively adorable, were Snitch and Skittery. Snitch had his thumb stuck in his mouth, and his other arm was wrapped around Skittery's waist.

I turned to Spot and Race, my eyebrow raised. "Are you _all_ gay?" I demanded. Spot and Race glanced at each other.

"You know, I always _wondered_ about those two…" Spot said, thoughtfully.

"Oh, you didn't know? They've been like that for about two weeks," Race replied, leaning against the wall.

"I had my suspicions when Snitch stopped sleeping in _Itey's_ bed…" I snorted. Chuckling, I approached the two boys, but the phone rang. Again, Spot and Race jumped a foot in the air. I rolled my eyes and snatched it up.

"Hello?"

"TORY! OH MY GOSH, TORY, I'M GOING _CRAZY!_" I jumped and held the phone away from my ear.

"_Jesu Cristo!_ Jenny, chill out and don't yell in my damn ear!" I yelped. "All right, calm down. Where are you?"

"Locked in my bathroom! Tory, it's _horrible!_ You wouldn't believe it if I told you!" she wailed. My heart started to pound.

"All right, Jenny. Is someone in the house?" I said, seriously. She whimpered.

"Yeah. Two."

"_Two_ people are in the house! Have they seen you?" Spot came in from the living room, but I waved him away.

"No…They were kinda'…um…_busy_…" I frowned.

"Whaddya mean? Jenny, who are they and what were they doing?" I demanded. I heard her take a deep breath.

"JackandDavidfrom_Newsies_areatmyhouseandthey'remakingout!"

It took a moment for me to register that.

"Jack and Davvy!"


	5. TOO MANY NEWSIWait, that's impossible

Shoutouts!

Lil Irish QT: Dahling, in my book, Jack and Davvy are written in the stars.

BoomerRang: Aha. I'm not tellin'! And I agree.

Nosilla: Tell me about it! Eurgh!

Erin Go Bragh: Yeah, sorry, but it's gonna get crowded. And I'm about to go to a new school, so you can bet that I'll fall in love with the first gay guy I meet. -rolls eyes-

twilight-maiden: I could totally picture Jenny freaking out.

Charlie Bird: CHA! You'll be making an appearance soon.

ducks-go-quack-00: Ick. Spiders.

Unknown-Dreams: No, I disgree. I think Hogwarts boys action is hotter.

Chaos Adame: Vote for me, and all your wildest dreams will come true!

Slightly: _I've_ been watching too much Nappy D?

* * *

"All right, Jenny. Breathe," I said soothingly into the phone. I could see that Snitch and Skittery were stirring. They looked _so_ cute. But, focus! "Jenny, Race and Spot and Skittery and Snitch are at my house, and they're all gay too. Just…Chill out…Get out of the bathroom…Have a nice Diet Rite, and then bring Jack and Davvy over to my place."

"_Race _and _Spot_ and _Skittery_ and _Snitch_ are at your house?" Jenny exclaimed. I heard a knocking, and Jenny shrieked in my ear. "What d'you want?" she squealed.

(mumble, mumble, mumble)

"Get away! Go away! Don't touch me!" Jenny wailed.

"JENNY! SNAP OUT OF IT!" I shouted. "Don't make me come out there!" She whimpered and quieted down.

"I'll be over in a few minutes," she said, finally. I sighed in relief.

"Good. Talk to you in a bit." I clicked off the phone and turned to see Snitch and Skittery, who were scrambling away from each other, blushing. "All right, boys, Jenny's coming over, and she's bringing Jack and Davvy." I chuckled at the image of Jenny huddling in the bathroom while Jack and Davvy snogged in her kitchen.

"Who's Jenny?" Spot demanded.

"She's a friend of mine. Snitch, Skittery: I'm Two-Bits, and you're sleeping on my couch," I said.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We just kind of…showed up here," Snitch explained. I nodded.

"Seems like _everybody's_ showing up," I replied. Again, the phone rang. "Doesn't anybody know what time it is!" I demanded, snatching up the phone. "Hello?"

"Tory, it's Bryan."

"Oh, hey Strelow. What's up?" I said, sitting on the edge of Spot's chair.

"Um…I have a small problem, and I didn't know what to do, so I called you."

"Uh-huuuhhh…" I said, wondering where this was going.

"Well…There are these two guys in my house…and they seem to be gay…and they apparently don't understand the concept of me being straight."

"So you're hiding in the bathroom?" I interrupted.

"No, the guest bedroom in the basement." I chuckled.

"What do they look like?"

"Well, they're both wearing glasses, and one's—" I glanced over at the newsies.

"Guys, are Specs and Dutchy together?" They nodded simultaneously.

"All right, Strelow. The brunette is Specs, and the blonde is Dutchy. Bring them over to my place, will ya? Jenny's coming over, too. Something weird is happening."

"Um…I'll try…"

"Adios!"

I began bustling about the kitchen. Okay, actually, I opened the fridge, pulled out a Dr. Pepper, and turned on the TV. "Guys," I said, flipping channels, "Strelow's coming over, and he's bringing Specs and Dutchy." Just then, the doorbell rang. I pulled it open.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"


	6. Poker

Woo! Chapter Six!

Shoutouts!

Nosilla: What does IAL mean? Muahahaha...I love cliffies.

BoomerRang: How's that for a dramatic entrance?

mistymixwofl aka Perch: Haha. Whatever works.

Unknown-Dreams: Needless to say, I think we all would.

Charlie Bird: My bestest friend. Or one of 'em, anyway. I tease him about being gay because he's very effeminite.

Queen of Doom: I _live_ for cliffies, baby!

Erin Go Bragh: YAY! Wouldn't that just be like, a dream come true?

Lil Irish QT: I'm touched.

Kid Blink's Dreamer: Man, I forgot about Bumlets! I loooove Bumlets! He is definitely next. You sure about Swifty though? I there an alternative? -thinks- Hmm...We'll see.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Oggle them," I replied promptly. My best friend/neighbor, Kelly, was standing in my entryway, looking very unamused. Behind her, Kid Blink and Mush were holding hands and looking more than a little confused. I chuckled. "Kelly, meet Spot, Racetrack, Snitch, and Skittery," I introduced, with not a little smugness. Kelly raised her eyebrows, pretending like she wasn't surprised.

"So, they got you too?" she asked.

"Doubly so. I found Spot and Race at my grandma's house."

"Anybody else show up?" she asked, flopping into the recliner. I nodded, sitting on the armrest of the other chair.

"Jack and Davvy at Jenny's house, and Specs and Dutchy are at Strelow's. All of them en route," I replied. They should be here in about half an hour. So..." I glanced around at the newsies, sitting in my living room and I suppressed a grin, wondering if I was dreaming. "What shall we do in the meantime?" Kelly shot a look at Racetrack and gave him a somewhat wicked grin.

"Care for a game of Poker?"

"Tch," Skittery scoffed. "We don't play Poker with Race. He _always_ wins." Racetrack chuckled, looking smug.

"I ain't afraid of him," Racetrack replied, pulling out a pack of cards. I pulled out a bag of crayons and divied them up between me, Spot, Race, and Kelly while she dealed. Kelly and I always play with crayons 'cause we're broke.

And so it began.

"Call," Kelly declared. Slowly, all four of us laid out our cards.

"Two pairs, king high," Race declared, laying out a pair of jacks and a pair of queens."

"Pair of aces, queen high," Spot said, with less enthusiasm.

"Three of a kind, ace high," I declared, mustering up as much smugness as Race had. We all looked at Kelly expectantly. Slowly, the suspension rising, Kelly revealed her hand.

CUE COLLECTIVE GASP

"Four of a kind," she said. "Ace high."


End file.
